Welcome Back!
We have lots to cover in our lesson today. Stamping is a great way to embellish your memory planner pages. They are versatile, reusable, and compact, making them a great addition to your crafty toolbox.
Nancy Damiano: Stamping in a No Photo Memory Planner
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Let's dive into a creative project that is part reflection journal, part art therapy, and a whole lot of fun! I started this project by repurposing an undated planner that I had on hand. While I work in a horizontal orientation with columns, you can apply all of the techniques to any planner. I wanted to accomplish two things when I started this memory-keeping project.
- To use my stamps and bits and pieces leftover from kits in a meaningful way.
- To have a creative practice that I could accomplish weekly in a short, stress-free way
Here are the supplies I used for memory planning:
- Hemlock & Oak undated planner
- Stamps
- Die cuts and Stickers
- Washi tape
- Stamping ink
- UNIPIN Fineliner pen in Light Gray 0.1 or your favorite writing pen
- Adhesive
To start this project, you need content. Get into the habit of jotting down 3 to 4 things each day. You can use your current planner or have a separate notebook to gather your thoughts.
What Do I Write About?
You can take some things directly from your daily planner. Here are a few more ideas to get you started:
- appointments and to-do's
- what's in the news (local or national)
- outfit of the day
- quotes or nuggets of wisdom
- what are you feeling today?
- weather and how it affected your day
- things that made you smile, laugh or cry
- lists
- wins and losses
- what are you reading, watching, feeling, eating, or looking forward to?
Try to jot these down at the same time every day. In the morning with your first cup of coffee or that last thing, you do before you go to bed. Reflect and write the first things that come to mind.
Start by gathering your supplies and journaling ideas from the week. Having your stamps and die cuts assorted by color can be handy. Start by choosing a washi tape and use the colors in it to determine your color palette. Place a strip of washi along the bottom border of the page.
Next, start by jotting down stories, using a nice bold stamp and some stickers to document your first day. When moving from column to column, make sure that the bold stamped sentiments and writing are varied throughout the page. You don't want two bold images to appear side by side. Keep your focal points balanced.
Repeat the same technique until you have filled up the entire week. Try to look at the layout as one whole rather than 7 separate columns when choosing stamps or die cuts.
Let's Talk Ink
Choosing stamping inks that work well in this project is key. My favorites are either chalk ink or pigment inks. These types of inks do not bleed through pages and come in a variety of colors. The downside is they take a while to dry and can smudge. Leave your book open overnight or hit it lightly with a heat gun to set. Distress Oxides are a hybrid that also doesn't bleed through pages and is a bit more smudge-proof. For stamping in black, I love the crisp lines that I get with Versafine Ink. I find that Archival Ink and most dye-based ink bleed through pages and so I avoid them. A memory-keeping planner is a great way to start a creative art practice and at the same time use up some of your favorite supplies. Nothing feels better than that! If you have questions or just want to connect, you can find me on Instagram @nancydamiano. Happy crafting!
Jennie McGarvey: Stamping with Classic Size Inserts
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I find that stamping is the most creative, personalized, and unique way that I add interest to my memory planner [or any other project!]. The best part of stamping is that once you find a stamp you love or love a particular way to use it, there's no limit to the number of times you can use it.
In my video, I give you a few general ways that I used stamping on this layout.  However, I want to break it down a little more for you here. I talk about masking and cleaning the stamps in the video, as well as layering stamps in your project. Masking and layering stamps are both really fun ways to add embellishments [and more!] in your memory planner without adding bulk.
Once you have a stamp set you'd like to use [I used three in this layout] all you need is an ink pad and a clear block.  It's best to choose a clear block that is close in size to the particular size stamp you're using. This will help give you the best impression.  Another thing to consider is using the proper ink. If you are a new stamper especially, Versafine is an ink pad that will give you excellent results.  I use this anytime I need a black ink pad! It has never let me down.
When you layer a few stamps to create a cluster, you'll want to keep a few things in mind.  One is to keep it simple. Don't choose complicated stamps, chances are, you'll end up with a mess. [A simple shape such as the circle and rectangle I used can really help with that.] As you gain confidence, you can add in a variety of stamps, but while you're a beginner, I recommend keeping it simple.
Included in the stamp set is the word currently in the solid version but also the outline. [We wanted to give you choices!] However, another fun way to use these stamps is to use them together, since they are the same word and the same size.  I simply used my pink ink to stamp the solid, then my accent navy blue ink to stamp the outline.  Another element to this, however, is that I wanted to create an offset in the type. I simply moved the outline stamp up and slightly to the right before stamping.
Stamps are beautiful in their own cluster.  However, don't forget that they work beautifully with other pieces.  For example, in the cluster in the upper right-hand corner, I used the orange accent color to stamp a simple rectangle, with the quote stamped inside of the box. I still wanted one more item in my cluster, so instead of reaching for my stamps, I added a simple die-cut to finish it off.  This was a great way to decorate when I didn't have a stamp that I wanted to use.
Hopefully, you've found some new ways to incorporate stamping in your memory planner or other projects. Remember, if you don't feel confident right away - practice! No one is an expert overnight.  Try stamping images on cardstock and cutting them out, they will still look great on your projects. After enough of this, you'll feel ready to stamp on your projects.
Rachel Newman: Currently and Highlights Page in a Daisy Dori
I am sharing two tutorials using stamps on the blank pages of the
Daisy Dori Insert. In this example, I am using the A5 Daisy Dori, but you could do a similar thing in most of the other Dori Sizes. This would also be possible to do between the weeks in the ring-bound inserts, too.
First, I am using the Class Stamp Set to create a "Currently Page".
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The possibilities are endless for these middle pages in the Daisy Dori inserts, however, that can be confusing to know what purpose they should serve. Having a specific plan for these pages ensures that you can utilize the whole insert, including planning and memory-keeping. As I mentioned in the
Introduction, you could use the Daisy Dori for two months of memory planning and use the middle pages for documenting the end of the month with a "currently" page and monthly highlights. This page came together with just one ink (black arrival ink) two stamp sets, and three highlighters/brush pens. If you are new to stamping, don't worry about having all the ink colors. The black ink can go a long way and is very forgiving.
To add color, I used a few swipes with the highlighters, and colored pencils from the
Confetti Wishes Classified: Memory Keeping Kit. Stamping allows you to repeat the same format each month and never worry about running out of any supplies to complete the page. 
On the other page, I created a "Highlights" page.
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A highlights page is a great way to capture the high points of a month and incorporate them into your regular planner or other memory-keeping formats. When I use a lot of stamping on a page, I like to set myself up for success by choosing a paper that will keep my stamping straight and aligned. For this reason, I grabbed one of the
Minimalist A5 Doubled Sided Graph Papers as the foundation of the page.
Stamps can be made into die cuts or stickers very easily! I loved the picture frame stamp from the
Afternoon Tea Memory Keeping Stamp Sets and wanted to use it as such for my photos. To give the impression of an actual frame, I trimmed out the middle of the stamp and cropped my photos to the size of the stamp. To change up the sentiment on the frames, I included stickers directly on the frame that matched the feeling in the photos. 
Stamps are great for titles, too! Here, I started with a swipe of color with the highlighter and the "highlights" stamp. To right-align the word "April" I started with the L instead of the A. When making words with alphas stamps, I take the extra step of stamping each alpha individually, to ensure the spacing is right. This time, however, my stamp was a little off, so I went with it, giving the word "April" and bouncy, whimsical feel. Lastly, I used a masking technique to layer the postcard stamp with the swirls. This is accomplished by stamping the swirl first, placing a sticky note (for easy removal) over the stamped portion, and stamping the postcard stamp.
We hope you learned some new techniques today and that you put these ideas to work in your memory planner! Next week we are getting "scrappy" in our memory planners! So gather up your scrapbook supplies, and we'll see you in the next lesson!
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